TRICK REVIEW - Vision Box 2.0 by João Miranda
Here is my in-depth review of Vision Box 2.0 by João Miranda.
REVIEW PHILOSOPHY
The philosophy is simple: to give you the truth.
When I review a product, I’d like to judge the product per se, but not putting past record or creator’s name/reputation into consideration. I will provide what is not said on the advertisement and details beyond the product itself.
I have no affiliation with any magicians or dealers. I paid the full price for this. I am not here to help creators and dealers to make sales, thus you will have everything good and bad about the product. Almost nothing is left out.
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YOUTUBE REVIEW
If you want to watch the review, here is the YouTube version.
Effect
The spectators signed card travels into a a clear box.
WHAT YOU GET?
You will receive:
1 clear box
3 ‘cards’ to construct the gimmick
A tool for resetting the gimmick
Online instruction link
QUALITY OF THE GIMMICK
Since the product ad and trailer have already stated some secrets in Vision Box, I will include the review of those parts as well without revealing the exact secret.
The gimmick is built with very high quality material which exceeds my expectation. First of all, there are 4 parts in the gimmick,
The clear box
The magnetic base
The box lid
Gimmicked predictions
You need to do a very simple and one-time DIY by sticking the magnetic base to the gimmick card provided. The instruction of the process is clear, though you need to pay attention to the orientation of the card and the base or you may mess up. There is on warning on the tutorial about the orientation, therefore I hope this advise will be helpful. The sticker is 3M thus once you mess up, it’s quite hard to unstick it.
3 cards (red back, blue back, blank card) are provided to make the gimmick. Since you are only provided with 1 magnetic base, thus you need to make up your mind with which card you want to make the gimmick. You cannot, say, switch from red-back to blue-back between performances, unless you alter the gimmick, and that will be difficult.
The plastic box is very professionally made. It is built with high precision, and the transparency of the plastic is very high. This makes the box look crystal clear.
At the beginning of the trick, the folded prediction can be taken out and unfolded to show the back of the card. Though there is discrepancy during the unfolding process, the audience will not notice it.
When the prediction is in the box, there is a slight angle issue in extreme condition. But if the box is on the table, actually it can be shown 360 degree. So actually I think angle issue is not a problem at all.
The lid of the box can sit comfortably on the top but it is not locked. In a sense, it is a decorative part of the box, thus you don’t have to carry it in performance if you don’t want to.
The prediction itself is somehow locked in place in the box. It won’t fall off even if you turn the box upside down.
Here is the main part of the gimmick review. Does it really work? The answer is definitely YES.
The switch is super smooth and fast. It’s invisible to naked eyes and even to camera. Once the prediction is locked into place, the gimmick can be inspected by spectators. A tool is needed to reset and thus there is no worry that spectator will find the secret.
However, depending how precise your DIY is, there may be some cases that, after the prediction is locked into place after the switch, there is a little tell if the spectators inspect the gimmick very closely (João Miranda has explained the solution to this problem). But these cases can always be fixed.
All in all, I am totally satisfied with gimmick and the product overall. The construction is the top class in the industry. But I really hope that one more magnetic base can be provided for making variation of the predictions.
I will give the gimmick 10/10 in score.
QUALITY OF THE TUTORIAL
The explanation is an online tutorial on YouTube.
The effect is well explained in a 21 minutes and 04 seconds long video. The explanation is done by João Miranda. The video is professional done in a studio setting with a half body length head-on angle. The video and sound quality are very good.
Length (in minutes) of the main parts (I literally counted):
What’s in the Box - 2:49
Gimmick Preparation (DIY) - 2:34
How to Use It - 4:48
Dani DaOrtiz Handling - 2:19
Mercury Card Fold - 6:47
Other Possibilities - 0:52
Final Words - 0:54
The explanation for the gimmick preparation is very clear. If you follow closely, you should be able to do it. However, there is not advise on what to do when you mess up this part.
The operation of the gimmick is quite straight forward. João Miranda has done a great job in explaining every details and nothing has missed out. Due to the clever construction, it’s no brainer to operate the gimmick. Beginners can do it easily. He even talked about the tips on how to hide the gimmick in better way.
Dani DaOrtiz's handling of the gimmick looks more casual than João Miranda’s method. Personally I think it’s no better or worse than the original method. But in original method, there is a slight discrepancy of card handling which some purists may not like. Dani DaOrtiz’s method has none of this issue. All handlings in this tutorial are good and sound, so you can choose the one which suits your taste.
There are 2 methods of Mercury Card Fold in the tutorial. The first one is very easy but cannot be done surrounded. Another one needs practice and is the more standard one. Both methods are practical for any kinds of performance.
In ‘Other Possibilities’ section, a few more performance ideas are discussed. None is demonstrated. If you are experienced magicians, you don’t need this section to tell you what more you can do; if you are beginners, you won’t understand what it is about. So I think this section is not very helpful to most viewers.
To conclude, the tutorial gives you all the information to perform the effect. But the information is limited to the essence of this product. In other words, there is no very inspiring ideas or discussion. Viewers will find that the details are absolutely enough, but the tutorial doesn’t go beyond any expectation. I am ok with it, but think much more can be added to the tutorial, because this product is awesome, having more information will be much appreciated. . Therefore, I will only give the tutorial 7/10 in score.
DIFFICULTY
The operation of the gimmick is easy. But Mercury Card Fold needs practice. And palming is required before the switch. Therefore beginners may need to put some time to perfect the whole sequence.
EXAMINABLE?
The gimmick is not examinable before the effect but can be inspected afterwards.
RESET TIME
It takes only 10 seconds to reset.
KEY POINTS OF THE PRODUCT
Cleverly designed gimmick
Easy to operate
The card can be taken out and unfolded before performance
There is discrepancy during gimmick operation but audience will not notice it
Palming is needed
Basically no angle issue
The box can be fully inspected after the effect
The gimmick is very durable and can last a long time.
FINAL VERDICT
There are significant improvements of Vision Box 2 over previous version. The box can be inspected, material is better, and the prediction is realistic etc.
It is a fair looking card-to-impossible location which can suit any styles of performances. The box is low-profile but professionally looking.
At current price of $75, Vision Box 2 is a brilliant tool to elevate your performance. Of course, the price tag may scare some people but it is a tool for serious performers. Personally, I think the cost performance of this product is higher than many products on the market. It can last a long time and can be integrated into many effects. Therefore, it’s not really expensive if you take this into consideration.
Whether you are hobbyist or professionals, you will find good use of Vision Box 2. I highly recommend it and will give it 10/10 in total score.
Tutorial Quality: 8/10
Effectiveness of Tricks: 10/10
Practical: 10/10
Creativity: 10/10
Cost Performance: 9/10
Final Score: 10/10
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Thank you for reading this review.